30 greatest Pittsburgh Steelers of the 2000s
By Tommy Jaggi
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had hundreds of players put on a black and yellow uniform over the past twenty years. Here are the 30 best players to do so.
The Steelers are one of the most prolific franchises in the National Football League, and I was intrigued with the idea of ranking the greatest players I grew up watching.
After weeks of formulating my list of every player the Steelers have drafted or signed since the year 2000, I was challenged with the difficult task of narrowing my list down to just 30 players out of the hundreds that have stepped onto the field for the Steelers in the past twenty years.
It was no easy task trying to compare players across positions and generations, and I have invested countless hours into this list, but it is finally complete. You may be already trying to do the math in your head and figure out which 30 players I saved for last. I promise, there shouldn’t be any big surprises in here, and this should all make sense after I explain my reasoning.
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter, so please leave a comment and help get the discussion rolling.
My criteria for this list restricted me to using players who entered the NFL in the year 2000 or later. They could be players who were either drafted or signed in free agency by the Steelers. Because of this, some prominent players like Alan Faneca, Joey Porter, Hines Ward, and Aaron Smith were drafted a bit too early to be included on this list.
With that in mind, here are my greatest 30 Pittsburgh Steelers of the 2000s: